BBC Online :
Iraq’s new parliament has ended its first session in disarray, with MPs failing to make any progress in choosing the country’s new leadership.
The Council of Representatives was due to elect a speaker, but Kurdish and Sunni Arab MPs did not return after a break, depriving it of a quorum. Acting Speaker Mahdi al-Hafez said parliament would reconvene in a week.
Iraq’s politicians have been urged to unite in the face of the jihadist-led Sunni rebellion in the north and west.
The central government in Baghdad has lost control of vast swathes of territory over the past month, and on Sunday the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) declared the establishment of a “caliphate” covering the land it holds in Iraq and Syria.
The United Nations has said at least 2,417 Iraqis, including 1,531 civilians, were killed in “acts of violence and terrorism” in June. The figure does not include fatalities in the western province of Anbar, where the Iraqi authorities say 244 civilians died.
The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen considers whether the Iraqi government can prevent the break up of the country
The first session of parliament since April’s elections ended after less than two hours.
Kurdish MPs, who faced noisy accusations of disloyalty from some supporters of Shia Arab Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, walked out. Other MPs followed and soon there were not enough to continue.
It had been hoped that the gravity of the crisis facing Iraq might be enough for
the country’s recently elected MPs to set aside their differences.
But since the elections in April, events on the ground have moved with terrifying speed.
Sunni militants have captured swathes of territory and declared an Islamic state. The Kurds have extended the boundaries of their own autonomous region. And once again, Iraqis are dying in huge numbers – about 2,500 in June alone, the worst monthly death toll since 2007.
The country is fracturing and its MPs do not seem to know how to stop it.
Iraq’s new parliament has ended its first session in disarray, with MPs failing to make any progress in choosing the country’s new leadership.
The Council of Representatives was due to elect a speaker, but Kurdish and Sunni Arab MPs did not return after a break, depriving it of a quorum. Acting Speaker Mahdi al-Hafez said parliament would reconvene in a week.
Iraq’s politicians have been urged to unite in the face of the jihadist-led Sunni rebellion in the north and west.
The central government in Baghdad has lost control of vast swathes of territory over the past month, and on Sunday the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) declared the establishment of a “caliphate” covering the land it holds in Iraq and Syria.
The United Nations has said at least 2,417 Iraqis, including 1,531 civilians, were killed in “acts of violence and terrorism” in June. The figure does not include fatalities in the western province of Anbar, where the Iraqi authorities say 244 civilians died.
The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen considers whether the Iraqi government can prevent the break up of the country
The first session of parliament since April’s elections ended after less than two hours.
Kurdish MPs, who faced noisy accusations of disloyalty from some supporters of Shia Arab Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, walked out. Other MPs followed and soon there were not enough to continue.
It had been hoped that the gravity of the crisis facing Iraq might be enough for
the country’s recently elected MPs to set aside their differences.
But since the elections in April, events on the ground have moved with terrifying speed.
Sunni militants have captured swathes of territory and declared an Islamic state. The Kurds have extended the boundaries of their own autonomous region. And once again, Iraqis are dying in huge numbers – about 2,500 in June alone, the worst monthly death toll since 2007.
The country is fracturing and its MPs do not seem to know how to stop it.
